Search

Placeholder Content Image

Plane crash survivors take “selfie of the year”

<p dir="ltr">Survivors of a crash between an airplane and a firetruck have caused outrage after taking a selfie.</p> <p dir="ltr">Two passengers, still covered in firefighting foam, smiled for the camera and shared the snap online with the caption: “When life gives you a second chance #latam”.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-702b43e8-7fff-a65b-efe6-63b406b369b0"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">While the plane’s crew and passengers all survived, what they didn’t know was that two of the firefighters in the truck that collided with the plane at Peru’s Jorge Chavez International Airport had died.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="es">Cuando la vida te da una segunda oportunidad <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/latam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#latam</a> <a href="https://t.co/Vd98Zu98Uo">pic.twitter.com/Vd98Zu98Uo</a></p> <p>— Enrique Varsi-Rospigliosi (@enriquevarsi) <a href="https://twitter.com/enriquevarsi/status/1593710356916051970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">In light of this, the passengers sparked outrage online for smiling in the wake of the tragedy.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’ve seen it all now. Crash selfie. End of the internet,” one person tweeted.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Nothing to be proud of, firefighters died,” another wrote in a popular aviation group on Facebook.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Two firefighters die but sure, take a selfie and laugh,” a third commented.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-a00f0788-7fff-4c81-44ae-b2fc0da02191"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Others shared memes criticising the photo, with one Twitter user sharing a photo of a woman posing in front of a wildfire and the caption, “Same vibes!”.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="es">Cuando te convertis en un meme de 9gag <a href="https://t.co/br7L8fdXIG">pic.twitter.com/br7L8fdXIG</a></p> <p>— 𝕸𝖆𝖚𝖗𝖔 𝕳. 𝕷. (@mxmauro) <a href="https://twitter.com/mxmauro/status/1593936036819865600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">SAME VIBES! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LATAM?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LATAM</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/latamperu?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#latamperu</a> <a href="https://t.co/lssuNyI3uv">https://t.co/lssuNyI3uv</a> <a href="https://t.co/8beWSTPWJn">pic.twitter.com/8beWSTPWJn</a></p> <p>— Alderson (@0Dweller) <a href="https://twitter.com/0Dweller/status/1593739808102227968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">But, some came to the defence of the passengers, noting that they would also be happy if they had walked away from a crash unscathed.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I mean it is selfie of the year … they walked away from that,” one wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I get it, they are happy they are alive,” another said. “People are just taking it the wrong way and getting offended for anything these days.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Think about it, you realised you’ve just survived an aeroplane crash, then suddenly it catches fire, and on top of it you are able to walk away from it unscratched? I’d be the happiest and most thankful person alive!”</p> <p dir="ltr">A third noted that at the time very few people would have known there had been fatalities resulting from the crash, particularly if they were on the plane.</p> <p dir="ltr">“In the moment they took the picture, only a few people knew that two firefighters had died. They thought it was a problem with the aeroplane,” they explained.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Media took, at least, an hour and a half to report what really happened. Even firefighters from Lima didn’t know for the first hour. They just felt thankful for being alive.”</p> <p dir="ltr">It also seems that the critics are in the minority, with the original post receiving more than 200,000 likes since it was posted on November 19, a day after the crash.</p> <p dir="ltr">None of the 102 passengers or crew on-board the LATAM Airbus 280 at the time lost their lives in the incident, the cause of which is currently being investigated according to Jorge Chavez International Airport.</p> <p dir="ltr">Footage taken by witnesses showed the plane taking off from the runway at full speed before colliding with the truck, also travelling at speed.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-7ce1be6b-7fff-6c54-db6b-98478293a3c0"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">With damaged landing gear, the plane continued moving forward with its right side dragging along the runway and sending up a trail of sparks.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="es">Todos los videos que me han llegado del accidente en el aeropuerto Jorge Chavez.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Latam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Latam</a> <a href="https://t.co/uS2d82ls7S">pic.twitter.com/uS2d82ls7S</a></p> <p>— 2023 VUELVO (@himselfsv) <a href="https://twitter.com/himselfsv/status/1593722983943528448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">When it stopped, the rear of the plane was badly burned and a cloud of smoke escaped the aircraft.</p> <p dir="ltr">According to security official Aurelio Orellana, a rescuer in the truck was also injured during the incident and is “in critical condition due to head trauma”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Manuel van Oordt, the general manager of LATAM Peru, said he was surprised the firefighters were on the runway to begin with, given that the plane’s pilot hadn’t reported any anomalies.</p> <p dir="ltr">“No emergency was reported in the flight, it was a flight that was in optimal conditions to take off, he had permission to take off, and he found a truck on the runway and we do not know what this truck was doing there,” he said at a press conference.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-19377d4c-7fff-891d-9c63-a8e5c8ccdc6c"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Twitter</em></p>

Travel

Placeholder Content Image

Train driving dream comes true for brain tumour survivor

<p dir="ltr">Three years after doctors found a large tumour growing in his brain, seven-year-old Broly Blackmore has seen his dream of becoming a train driver come true.</p> <p dir="ltr">The young boy from Hallett, South Australia, had the tumour removed when he was just four years old after he collapsed and was rushed to hospital by helicopter.</p> <p dir="ltr">If it wasn’t removed that night, doctors told his mother, Corrine Maidment, that he wouldn’t make it.</p> <p dir="ltr">In the years since, Broly’s life has become relatively normal, albeit with regular brain scans and physio trips - and he has had his wish of driving a train granted by the Starlight Foundation.</p> <p dir="ltr">The seven-year-old went on a trip on the Pichi Richi steam train, travelling from Quorn to Port Augusta as a “trainee train driver”.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Ever since he was only a couple of months old everything has always been about trains … diesels aren't as good as steam trains apparently," Ms Maidment said, adding that he barely slept the night before the big day.</p> <p dir="ltr">"According to everyone in the train, they weren't allowed to do anything without his say so … at one point, he told the fireman, the guy who does the coal, 'That's my seat. I need to sit there'.</p> <p dir="ltr">"He was boss for the day." </p> <p dir="ltr">The Pichi Richi railway, an outback steam train experience that has been operating since 1973, later shared a sweet photo of Broly on the train.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Last Sunday, Pichi Richi Railway was able to grant a wish for a very special visitor, 7 year old Broly who was having his wish granted with help from Starlight Children's Foundation Australia’s ‘Wishgranting Program’,” the railway <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PichiRichiRailway/posts/pfbid032C45MeP339xWYPL321ZTFjXXsehYJh7pWe2xkX812DkCLCBZgZyp8UVNGVzF7ztvl">wrote</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Broly loves trains so Starlight contacted Pichi Richi Railway and Broly was lucky enough to ride in the cab of engine W934 for the day with our crew on the Pichi Richi Explorer service. </p> <p dir="ltr">“A very special day for our crew, Broly and his family.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Although Broly’s wish was given to him while he was in hospital, Ms Maidment said they had waited until he was old enough to decide how he wanted to spend it.</p> <p dir="ltr">"He's had the wish sitting there since he was in the hospital ... but we wanted to wait until he was old enough to make a decision himself so he'd know what the wish was and he'd remember it," she said. </p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-4354a857-7fff-0466-bb9f-4dd255b3ba47"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Blackmore family, Starlight Foundation, Pichi Richi Railway (Facebook)</em></p>

Health

Placeholder Content Image

Coronavirus survivor hit with $1.1 million hospital bill

<p>A COVID-19 patient who was dubbed “the miracle child” after spending weeks in an induced coma has received a US$1.1 million (SG$1.53 million) bill for his hospital treatment.</p> <p>Michael Flor, 70, spent 62 days in an intensive care unit at Swedish Medical Centre in the city of Issaquah in Washington, United States, where he came so close to death from the coronavirus.</p> <p>But Flor said it was still “heart-stopping” to receive the hospital bill for $1,122,501.04.</p> <p>“I had to look at it a number of times… to see if I was seeing it right,” Flor told <em><a href="https://time.com/5853392/million-dollars-covid-19-treatment-seattle/">TIME</a></em>.</p> <p>The 181-page bill included almost 3,000 itemised charges, <em><a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/inspiring-story-of-seattle-mans-coronavirus-survival-comes-with-a-1-1-million-dollar-hospital-bill/">The Seattle Times</a> </em>reported. Flor was charged $9,736 for every day he spent in an isolation chamber and an additional $2,835 for each day he was put on a mechanical ventilator. A two-day period when his heart, kidneys and lungs were failing cost close to $100,000.</p> <p>Flor said he will likely foot little of his bill because he is insured by Medicare and Medicare Advantage through Kaiser Permanente. According to the <em>Times</em>, he may not have to pay anything due to the special policies applied to hospitals and insurance companies for COVID-19.</p> <p>However, Flor said he still felt guilt while going through the numbers.</p> <p>“I feel guilty about surviving,” he told the <em>Times</em>.</p> <p>“There’s a sense of ‘why me?’ Why did I deserve all this? Looking at the incredible cost of it all definitely adds to that survivor’s guilt.”</p> <p>Flor is now recovering in his West Seattle home.   </p>

Finance

Over 60

© Copyright 2024 OverSixty.All Rights Reserved.